I.
noun
1 topic or person under consideration
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , complex , complicated , vast
▪ simple
▪ excellent , fascinating , good , interesting
▪ serious
▪
This chapter deals with a very serious ~.
▪ controversial , delicate , difficult , embarrassing , sensitive , touchy
▪ taboo
▪
Work is a taboo ~ when we go out for dinner.
▪ closed
▪
I don't wish to discuss it any further—the ~ is closed.
▪ different , diverse , various
▪
I read books on different ~s.
▪
books on such diverse ~s as trains and ancient sculpture
▪ chosen
▪
Each candidate has to speak for three minutes on her chosen ~.
▪ favourite/favorite , pet ( esp. BrE )
▪
Once he gets onto his pet ~ there's no stopping him.
▪ control , healthy , human , normal , research , study , test ( all science )
▪
research on human ~s
▪
None of the study ~s altered his or her diet in any other way.
VERB + SUBJECT
▪ cover , debate , discuss , talk about , touch ( esp. AmE ), touch on
▪
We touched briefly on the ~.
▪ address , deal with , tackle , treat
▪
I wasn't sure how to deal with the delicate ~ of money.
▪ examine , explore , have a look at , investigate , look at , look into , pursue
▪
We want to have a fresh look at the difficult ~ of corporate fraud.
▪ approach , bring up , broach , get onto , raise
▪ drop
▪
Let's drop the ~ since we don't seem to be able to agree.
▪ stick to
▪
I wish he'd stick to the ~.
▪ get off , wander off
▪
She was supposed to be speaking about sales figures, but she kept wandering off the ~.
▪ bring sb back to , get back to , return to
▪
Getting back to the ~ of lighting, does anyone have any suggestions for improvements?
▪ avoid
▪ change , switch ( AmE )
▪
Don't change the ~.
SUBJECT + VERB
▪ arise , come up
▪
The ~ of gambling has come up several times recently.
▪ range from sth to sth
▪
Internet courses on diverse ~s ranging from nursing to computers
SUBJECT + NOUN
▪ matter
▪
I like the way she writes, although I'm not interested in her ~ matter.
PREPOSITION
▪ on a/the ~
▪
While we're on the ~ of books, has anyone read ‘The Corrections’?
▪ ~ of
▪
the ~ of the new painting
PHRASES
▪ a range of ~s
▪
We discussed a wide range of ~s.
▪ a variety of ~s
▪
She touches on a wide variety of ~s.
2 area of study
ADJECTIVE
▪ difficult , easy
▪ compulsory , core , main
▪ additional , optional , special
▪ specialist
▪ technical
▪
students of technical ~s
▪ research
▪ art ( AmE ), arts ( BrE ), science
▪ academic
VERB + SUBJECT
▪ take
▪
What ~s are you taking ( = studying ) this year?
▪ offer
▪
The department offers seven different ~s in all.
▪ choose
▪ study
▪
I have spent a lifetime studying this ~.
▪ teach
▪
those who teach core ~s like English
▪ fail , fail in , pass
▪
She was disappointed to fail in two of her four ~s.
▪ drop
▪
Students are free to drop the ~ at age 14.
SUBJECT + NOUN
▪ area
▪
The syllabus is divided into five ~ areas.
PREPOSITION
▪ in a/the ~
▪
He did well in every ~.
PHRASES
▪ a choice of ~ , a choice of ~s
▪
His unusual choice of ~s made it harder to find a job.
▪ a range of ~s
◆◆◆
NOTE: Subjects of study
▪ do … ( BrE ), read … ( BrE , formal ), study …
▪
She did physics and chemistry at school.
▪
She read classics at Cambridge.
▪
He studied German at school.
▪
She went on to study mathematics at college.
▪ choose … , take …
▪
I'm taking philosophy and politics this year.
▪ fail … , flunk … ( AmE , informal ), pass …
▪
I failed English.
▪
I flunked math.
▪
Did you pass history?
▪ drop …
▪
I want to drop linguistics.
▪ lecture in … ( esp. BrE ), teach …
▪
He taught music at a school in Cuba.
▪ a … degree , a degree in … , a diploma in …
▪
a law degree
▪
a higher diploma in fine art
▪ … class , … course , … lecture , … lesson ( esp. BrE )
▪
The genetics lectures are on a different campus.
▪ a/the … department , a/the department of …
▪
All queries should be addressed to the Department of Architecture.
▪ … graduate , … student , … undergraduate
▪
Some architecture graduates gain further qualifications in specialist fields.
▪ … lecturer , … teacher , … tutor ( esp. BrE )
▪
He's an English teacher at Orange Road School.
▪ a … professor , (a) professor of …
▪
She's professor of linguistics at MIT.
▪ the study of …
▪
The study of philosophy helps you to think critically.
▪ in …
▪
He got As in history and art.
II.
adj. subject to sth
1 likely to be affected by sth
VERBS
▪ be , seem
▪ become
▪ leave sb/sth , make sb/sth
▪
His illness left him ~ to asthma attacks.
ADVERB
▪ particularly
▪ frequently , increasingly
▪ potentially
▪ still
▪
At this stage these proposals are still ~ to change.
2 under the authority of sb/sth
VERBS
▪ be
▪
Everyone was ~ to the whim of the sheikh.
▪ become
▪ remain
▪ make sb/sth
▪
All the priories were made directly ~ to the abbot.
ADVERB
▪ entirely
▪ directly